Michael Phelps and a bong? Is there any truth to this?

No competitive advantage via pot. It's a personal issue, not a competitive one. Not personal anymore when you have become the face of USA Swimming. Three months is a token suspension, chosen so as not to interfere with Worlds.

I know I'm late to this discussion, but can I just say that if anyone deserves a bong hit, it's Phelps. Hope no one ever sees some of my college photos... ditto that. i will only accept sponsorship from the likes of e-z wider and makers mark.... all candid photos... stumbling or dribbling or stuffing mallowmars (or brownies) in my face will gain me extra bonus dollars! i should be on the michael phelps agent advisory board.

Three months is pretty weak. Should have been at least six months, but then he would have missed Worlds. Can't have that. Also highlights what a joke drug testing has become. The only ones who get caught are those who are stupid or careless. The face of USA Swimming, stuck in a bong. Way to elevate the sport.

First, he was "dropped" by Kelloggs but they were gonna let him go anyway after his contract. This looks like a penalty to him, but is it really? Could have been more mutual than we know. Kelloggs looks good and Phelps takes a coporate hit but it is meaningless to both. Meaningless, you say? He won't be getting any more free cereals; he'll have to buy his own. Meaningless?

How bout Captain Sully Sullenberger and his crew for example? Some say he and his crew were just doing thier jobs and hence they aren't really heroes....but I (and many others I am sure) would say that his actions were most definitely of the heroic variety....but who the heck am I anyway! Welcome back Jim. About the US Captain. I disagree. What he did was not only his job, but what he's really trained for: react swiftly and correctly to emergencies. That's why they get the big bucks, where flying is 99.9% boredom mixed with the .1% moment(s) of absolute terror. Any person can take off and fly a plane (and maybe even land it). I read somewhere that the NTSB takes six months to analyze to death an incident that a pilot might have had only six seconds to react to. Why does this whole thread give me a feeling of "déja vu"?

Seeing Kelloggs drop Phelps makes me sad for him. I hope he is not a little too into the alcohol. I suspect he was tanked before he hit the bong and was oblivious to somebody taking a picture of him. Alcohol is great but can sure impair the judgment of even the most intelligent. I suspect it played a part in impairing his judgment here as it did in 2004. Maybe he will consider some counseling in this area. He still can be a great role model for kids. This is something he could use to talk to kids about, especially high school and college kids. He could give a convincing speech on how overdoing it on the alcohol can cost you. Since he is a big sports figure, kids would listen.

To inject a serious thought: in this discussion, terms like 'role models' and 'hero' have been used variously. While I am a total swimming fan and naturally wowed by Phelp's feats, along with the attendant dedication necessary to achieve them, I think it would be much healthier to choose our heroes, not automatically from celebrity/sports figures but from within those ranks of people who transcend fear, danger, disease etc., to either save lives or achieve great social good. They are out there. To paraphrase Pogo, We have seen the role model, and it is (or at least can be) us. We had a college swimmer home for a couple weeks who swam with us in the mornings. We got a thank you note from her when she got back to school: Hey CGM Masters! I had a lot of fun swimming with all of you these past two weeks. I'm really impressed with everyone and your ability and commitment to wake up so early every day of the week. It's really an inspiration to see people of all ages swimming like I've seen all of you do. Plus you all have such great attitudes! Thanks so much for being so accepting and nice to me and willing to take me in while I was home from school. I have a couple weeks of swimming left when I return with the big Conference Meet in Federal Way, Washington on the weekend of February 13-15. I was glad I got to get back in shape with your help. Who knows, maybe I'll see you again in the summer :-) Good luck with swimming! Have fun! We have some 14 year old kids who join us once a week or so to get in a double. I have heard from a parent of one of the kids that they are impressed with how fast and tough some of those old people are. I'm sure She-Puff-Diddy is an inspiration to the kiddos she trains with, even if they don't currently know it. Those kids will grow up with an awareness of masters swimming, and the sub-conscious knowledge that you don't have to give up and let yourself go at 30, or 35, or 60. While Dara helped some, she seems a little surreal, with her personal trainers, nanny, and independent wealth. Masters are real people, with real jobs, real family issues, and real problems. Oregon has some of the fastest men and women swimmers in the country. To a person, I have found them to be kind, friendly, engaging, and, in the pool, fiercely competitive. 74 year old Olympian Dave Radcliff is one of the nicest people you will ever meet, edits our newsletter, looks about 20 -30 years younger than he apparently is, and has kicked my sorry *** in the pool. When my kids start talking about heroes and role models, I hope to steer them in the direction of some of the real people in our lives, including my swimming friends.

He was arguably the biggest face and name of the 2004 Athens Games...why no suspension for the DUI? Good question. The DUI really is a bigger deal. I suppose people are more outraged by the use of an illegal substance. I believe Gary Hall, Jr. likewise received a 3 month suspension for marijuana use (although from FINA instead of USA Swimming), so at least there is consistency.

I know I'm late to this discussion, but can I just say that if anyone deserves a bong hit, it's Phelps. Hope no one ever sees some of my college photos... His mother probably agrees with this statement. Implying that this is the kind of bong hit he deserves. Granted many people have had their Cheech and Chong moments in life. But he's paying for this is so many ways. It's guestimated that his little pow wow cost him tens of millions.

Your little comment a couple of minutes was weak smack. Honestly. I give it a 1 on a scale of 1-10. It was bad. Sorry. First you peg me as an engineering prof in a thread in which I talk about my desire to teach a course of the mythology of futbol/soccer. Then in this very thread I mention how freaking moronic it is to think that I teach engineering, and I give a clue as to what some of the themes that I research and teach... ... and you ask about "experiments"??? Hey knuckle-dragger: wipe the slobber from the sides of your mouth. T'is quite unpleasant. I think it's time for some race starts in the shallow/kiddie end of the pool.